The Mammoth Auction review photos have been updated. You can find all of them by clicking on the Programs menu and choosing Mammoth Fundraiser to find the link or just follow this link.
Joe Byrd
BGLM Chairman
Birthdays always make me reflect on my life. Today I am remembering my first day as a docent at the Garden back when it first opened. I was apprehensive about driving into Oakland from my home in Monterey and did not particularly enjoy standing around the Garden not really knowing what I was expected to do.
Fast forward to last Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile I had moved to Oakland to be near my one and only granddaughter and retired to run the BGLM. Although I had been volunteering at the Garden every Friday for over a year, and filled in as a docent in emergencies, I had never really considered myself a docent. Continue reading
A foggy morning in the garden provides some great scenes of the trees. This view down on the garden shows the new shade trellises. These new improvements will cool down the garden and improve the health of the trees.
I recently had the privilege of presenting our future plans for the the BGLM to the East Bay Bonsai Society (EBBS). The club booked the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt (BGLM) for their June meeting and requested a short talk about our plans for the Garden along with a tour. The members arrived in the early evening and were greeted by refreshments furnished by the Club. Once appetites were satisfied, Bob Gould and Janice Dilbeck took the group of several dozen on an expansive Garden tour.
Many club members are volunteers and some were new members who had not visited the Garden previously. All enjoyed the tour and the changes to the Garden that were mentioned to them. They liked the nameplates on the trees and the shade cloths but mostly they loved the bonsai on display and in the reserve. Continue reading
I come to the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt (BGLM) with nearly 20 years’ experience in bonsai including 10+ as the GSBF-Bonsai.org webmaster, 10+ as a GSBF Board of Trustee member and 12+ as the president of the Monterey Bonsai Club. I helped create the original Garden website and attended the Garden grand opening in 1999. This year I will help lead the 15th year anniversary celebration. I have a background in publishing, technology marketing, and as a founder of a dot.com company and an international photo industry conference business. My vision for BGLM for it to develop it into a world-famous bonsai museum and a center for bonsai education. I am grateful to work with the many wonderful volunteers who make our Garden the success that it is and look forward to continue the great work of the leaders who have come before me.
—Joe Byrd
Chairman, Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt